Although details of the prospective deal have yet to be officially released, local media in India reported that the agreement would include the purchase of 10 C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft for the Indian air force.

The advanced airplanes are intended to replace India's aging fleet of Russian-made Ilyushin IL-76s.

The Economic Times reported that the deal was due to be signed in November when U.S. President Barack Obama visits India.

The same newspaper said the deal was being concluded through government-to-government negotiations under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.

"The C-17 is likely to provide the Indian air force with much stronger transport capabilities," The Economic Times said explaining that the Boeing-made Globemaster, known also as the Hercules C-17, is best utilized for air dropping paratroopers and supplies, emergency evacuations and carrying heavy equipment.

The transport plane was largely deployed by the United States in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.

Bent on bolstering its military might and becoming a regional superpower, India announced plans recently to spend up to $30 billion on its military by 2012.

In recent months, also, it inducted a long-range, nuclear-tipped missile into its armed forces, unveiling, also, a defense spending budget spiked by 24 percent since last year.

The moves have Pakistan fretting, with leading officials billing India's drive a "massive militarization."

Boosting its defense artillery, India last week successfully launched a surface-to-surface supersonic missile, marking the first missile to be tested in supersonic speed in steep-dive mode.

India is also in the process of expanding its defense ties with Poland, discussing possible joint research and development of weapons.

The Economic Times reported that while the multibillion-dollar defense deal would be finalized at the government level, "Boeing will handle its implementation as well as the offsets."

Once the deal is successfully completed, India will have the largest C-17 fleet outside the United States. England currently hosts the largest fleet outside the United States with eight planes. Qatar and Australia follow, respectively.

The massive multiservice C-17 Globemaster can carry large combat equipment and troops. It can also serve as important airlift support for humanitarian aid missions bound across large distances to small airfields that have runways just 3,500 feet long and 90 feet wide. It can carry a payload of around 170,000 pounds and has a range of more than 3,200 miles.

earlier related report
Refurbished Dutch F-16s bound for Chile
Santiago, Chile (UPI) Sep 28, 2010 - Chile is starting to take delivery of Dutch F-16 fighter bombers, that old workhorse of the Cold War years, as part of a deal that will see the Chilean air force making more use of the refurbished jets.

This week, 18 of the refurbished F-16s are to be delivered to Chile at the Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands and more are due for transfer to the Latin American country at a later stage. Chilean officials said the final number of F-16s in the air force could total 44 by 2011.

The total price tag on the refurbishment, appropriately called the Mid-Life Upgrade, wasn't discussed. Figures in excess of $270 million were mentioned but not confirmed.

Other than technological advancement, including change of software and battle-readiness of the aircraft, the F-16s will undergo change of colors and symbols before they land in Chile.

The Dutch air force decided to sell the F-16s as surplus to its need. Dutch instructors are training Chilean military personnel, including maintenance engineers on the upkeep of the fighter bombers once they enter the Chilean air force service.

Chile pursued the purchase for several years before the initial deal became known in April 2009.

Industry analysts said the upgrade of the F-16s bound for Chile was likely to be to standard configuration, which makes them capable of performing all kinds of missions. Whether the upgrade includes the whole range of operating software or some has been withheld isn't known. Analysts said it was unlikely that the full range of U.S. software would be made available for transfer to Chile.

Industry sources said the Chilean F-16s could likely be equipped with Israeli Python 4 and Derby missiles.

The F-16 entered service in 1979 as a General Dynamics innovation specifically for the U.S. Air Force. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corp., which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.

The F-16 "Fighting Falcon" -- nicknamed "Viper" by pilots because of its nose -- was expected to be replaced by a successor in 1999. Due to several reasons, both economic and political, the F-16 wasn't replaced. Instead, in an effort to maintain the same level of operational capabilities and operational effectiveness of existing aircraft over the next 10 to 20 years amid ever increasing technology, the manufacturers put in place an extensive modernization program. It became known as the Mid-Life Update.

The Netherlands air force initially bought a total of 213 F-16A/B, one of four European participating air forces and one of five countries to build the F-16 locally. Later the Dutch reduced their inventory to 108 aircraft but upgraded all of them to MLU standard. Some surplus Dutch F-16s were sold to Jordan.

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